[PW] Re: Merry Christmas

[John Henderson]

A review of the OED and JSTOR make it clear that "merry" has become a  
nearly obsolete word which survives almost entirely in phrases that  
pre-date the twentieth century. In addition to the Christmas  
greeting, use of it is limited to literary terms and titles and old  
saws: the Merry Men, merry hell, Merry Andrew, make merry, More the  
Merrier, Merry Mount, Merry-go-round., Merry Wives of Windsor. The  
very few exceptions seem to pop up only when the lure of an  
alliteration has been strong enough to revive it, as in Merry  
Melodies. The rare 20th century independent usages listed in OED  
include a couple more recent quotations illustrating the definition  
"Boisterous or cheerful due to alcohol" and one for "Of a tale,  
saying, jest, etc.: amusing, diverting, funny": "1989 Independent  
(BNC) 12 Dec. 27/2 Chevy Chase playing a part very reminiscent of the  
old Bob Hope: always a merry quip while in jeopardy." Perhaps the  
author was using the word in an attempt to place Chase and Hope  
deeply within the centuries-old jesting tradition.

On the related question: Remembering from readings on the search for  
an historical Rood Hood, I think the name 'Robinhood' is found in  
church records and legal documents as early as the thirteenth century.

The last discussion I remember about merry had to do with regional  
dialects. Depending on where you live, the following three words are  
either homonyms or not: merry, Mary, marry. They all sound alike to me.

John Henderson
Ithaca College Library
jhenderson at ithaca.edu